P.M. NEWS THURSDAY 2-14-13

The Joint Landowners Coalition continues to monitor the situation with the DEC & the state health department as the February 27th deadline approaches for the final draft regulations for hydrofracking. Coalition Attorney Scott Kurkoski told WCDO News that DEC Commissioner Joe Martens was optimistic that gas drilling permits could be issued soon:

(Scott Kurkoski 2-14-13)

Kurkoski noted that the state of Ohio finished their process in 8 months, while New York State has already taken 4 ½ years to complete the process.

———————————–

State troopers in Norwich arrested 27-year-old HeatherMcShane of Norwich for Driving While Intoxicated with a BAC of .16%. The arrest resulted from a motor vehicle accident on State Highway 8 in New Berlin; McShane was issued tickets returnable to the Town of New Berlin Court on February 20th.

————————————

State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and Comptroller Tom DiNapoli announced that former state Senator Shirley Huntley has pleaded guilty to Tampering with Physical Evidence, for falsifying evidence in an effort to obstruct the investigation into the theft of a grant she sponsored for a sham non-profit entity, the Parent Workshop. Huntley & 1 other person pocketed approximately $29,950, from the scam; she faces 18-24 month prison sentence plus 5 years probation in exchange for her felony guilty plea.

————————————-

The Unatego United Group will hold a rally on Thursday, February 28th at 7pm at the Otego Elementary School. The group is working on another letter writing campaign to lawmakers, regarding the state’s school aid formula.

————————————-

The Sidney town board will hold their next regular meeting this evening. The meeting gets underway at 7:00 PM the meeting will be held in the first floor boardroom of the Sidney civic center.

——————————

19th district Congressman Chris Gibson announced that he has joined with a bipartisan group to introduce H.R. 610, which would establish a federal Tick-Borne Diseases Advisory Committee. Under the legislation, the Advisory Committee would be tasked with enhancing communication among federal agencies, medical professionals, and patients/patient advocates and to ensure that a broad spectrum of scientific viewpoints is represented in public health policy decisions.

—————————–

Price Chopper Supermarkets is issuing a voluntary recall on its Price Chopper Bakery Fresh bagels and muffins containing raisins. The products are being recalled due to the presence of naturally occurring foreign matter in the raisins that does not meet the Price Chopper standards. The affected products were produced and purchased between December 14th 2012 and February 8th 2013. Customers who have any of the affected product should return it to their local Price Chopper for a full refund.

————————–

The New York State Public Service Commission authorized the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority to increase the maximum incentive amount from $400,000 currently available up to $1 million per installation for the on-site wind program to help boost program participation. In 2010, the Commission established budgets and targets through 2015 for the Renewable Portfolio Standard program to encourage self-generation technologies, Copies of the action are available at dps.ny.gov